Follow Your Heart

From their humble beginnings in a local sandwich shop, the creators of the original vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise) remain true to their roots 50 years on.

- By Neil Zevnik

Do you remember the Age of Aquarius? Flower Power? The Summer of Love? I admit that I do, with fond nostalgia. But unless you’re past a “certain age,” it’s probably just a festive footnote in not-so-recent history for you.

Humor me, and let’s go back to 1970, the San Fernando Valley in sunny Southern California. A bunch of musically inclined “hippies” band together to open a tiny seven-seat sandwich counter in the back of a local natural foods store—vegetarian of course, in keeping with the times.

Fast-forward a few years, and they move down the street to a larger location, ironically into a former butcher shop—karmic cleansing at its best. Along the way, they’ve created a vegan mayonnaise to embellish their now-iconic Avocado, Tomato, & Sprouts Sandwich.

Now let’s hold that “forward” button down and whir ahead to today. That Follow Your Heart sandwich shop is still there as an expanded café, still offering vegetarian and vegan fare to the community. And one of the original founders, Bob Goldberg, is still in the saddle, pursuing his passion. “It’s still the same values that underlie everything that we do. Everyone should have access to healthy affordable foods.”